26-year-old US Army Sergeant Colby Richmond was killed in action on Thursday 25th August 2011 when a bomb exploded by the truck he was driving in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Sgt. Richmond, from Providence, North Carolina, served with the 546th Transportation Company, 82nd Sustainment Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, based at Fort Bragg. He leaves his wife, six-year-old son and his mother.

His mother, Cynthia Richmond, told WFMY News: "You have a child who leaves home to go and serve his country and you can correspond with that individual, and then they come back there in a casket."

US Army Sergeant Devin Daniels was killed in Afghanistan last week while conducting combat operations. The 22-year-old was from Idaho and had graduated from Eagle High School in 2007, according to a report by IdahoStatesman.com published on 31st August.

Sgt. Daniels is survived by his wife, Samantha, and a 7-month-old daughter, Olivia.

British Royal Marine Sergeant Barry Weston, serving with 42 Commando, was killed in action on Tuesday 30th August 2011 in Helmand province. He died from the blast of an insurgent bomb while leading a foot patrol near the village of Sukmanda in southern Nahr-e Saraj district.

40-year-old Sgt. Weston, known as 'Baz', joined the Royal Marines in September 1991. After completing six months of arduous training, he joined 42 Commando.

He served in many combat operations including Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Sierra Leone and Iraq. He distinguished himself as a Reconnaissance Operator, Platoon Weapons Instructor and Recruit Troop Sergeant, amongst many other talents.

Sgt. Weston leaves behind his wife Joanne and their three daughters Jasmine, Poppy and Rose.

Georgian Army Junior Sergeant Rezo Beridze, age 35, died from wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his patrol unit in Helmand province. He joined the Georgian Armed Forces in 2002 and had previously deployed to Iraq.

The Georgian Ministry of Defense confirmed his death on Wednesday evening, 31st August 2011. According to a news report in the newspaper Batumelebi, the body of Jr. Sgt. Beridze was repatriated to Georgia on 27th August.

The Georgian Army's 33rd Battalion of the 3rd Infantry Brigade is currently serving in Helmand province, having rotated with the 32nd battalion in Helmand this April.

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Air Force Major Thomas E. Reitmann of Red Wing, Minn., will be buried on Sept. 8 in Arlington National Cemetery. In 1965, Reitmann was assigned to the 334th Tactical Fighter Squadron deployed out of Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., to Takhli Air Base, Thailand. On Dec 1, 1965, he was flying a strike mission as the number three aircraft in a flight of four F-105D Thunderchiefs as part of Operation Rolling Thunder. His target was a railroad bridge located about 45 nautical miles northeast of Hanoi. As the aircrew approached the target area, they encountered extremely heavy and accurate anti-aircraft artillery (AAA). While attempting to acquire his target and release his ordnance, Reitmann received a direct AAA hit and crashed in Lang Son Province, North Vietnam. Other pilots in the flight observed no parachute, and no signals or emergency beepers were heard. Due to the intense enemy fire in the area a search-and-rescue team was not able to survey the site and a two-day electronic search found no sign of the aircraft or Reitmann.

In 1988, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) repatriated remains to the United States believed to be those of Reitmann. The remains were later identified as those of another American pilot who went missing in the area on the same day as Reitmann.

Between 1991 and 2009, joint U.S.-S.R.V. teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), analyzed numerous leads, interviewed villagers, and attempted to locate the aircraft. Although no evidence of the crash site was found, in 2009 and 2011 a local farmer turned over remains and a metal button he claimed to have found in his corn field.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA – which matched that of his brother -- in the identification of Reitmann’s remains.

US Army Specialist Dennis James Jr was killed in action on 31st August 2011 in Wardak province, Afghanistan. The 21-year-old 10th Mountain Division soldier died from injuries he received when an insurgent bomb exploded beside his patrol unit.

His awards include the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and a Combat Action Badge.

US Army Specialist Christopher J. Scott, was killed in action on 3rd September 2011 when his patrol unit came under enemy fire. The incident occurred in Kandahar province.

The 21-year-old Military Policeman, from Tyrone, New York, was serving with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. This was his first overseas deployment. He deployed two months ago.

24-year-old US 10th Mountain Division Specialist Kevin R. Shumaker died from rabies on 31st August 2011 whilst being treated for the disease in a US hospital.

Spc. Shumaker joined the Army in February 2009 and served as a cook with the 615th Military Police Company in Afghanistan from May 2010 to May 2011. He returned to Fort Drum, New York, in August this year.

It is thought that Spc. Shumaker contracted the disease overseas but this is currently under investigation. The Army said he did not contract the disease in New York.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the NATO Medal, the Army Service Ribbon and Overseas Service Ribbon, according to the Army.

Spc. Shumaker is survived by his mother and stepfather.

Note: He is included in this thread because of his service in Afghanistan.

US Army Private 1st Class Christophe J. Marquis, died in Germany at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center on 4th September 2011. He had been transferred to the hospital from Afghanistan where he was critically injured by a bomb blast in Kandahar on 27th August.

US engineer James W. "Will" Coker was murdered in eastern Kabul after he went missing last week. Some news sources suggest he was kidnapped. His body was found on Monday 5th September.

An Afghan military official told CBS News that the body had been beheaded. However, a Western official in Kabul told the press that Mr. Coker had been strangled. His body was discovered in a cave in hills near the outskirts of Kabul.

Mr. Coker was working in Afghanistan as a construction contractor for the US Army Corps of Engineers. His family, in Charleston, South Carolina, were notified by military officers of his death on Monday.

French paratrooper Lieutenant Valery Tholy, aged 36, was killed in action on 7th September 2011 during a battle with enemy forces in the village of Mobayan, Kapisa province. In an intense exchange of fire, which involved rocket-propelled grenades and artillery, several French Paras and a French journalist were wounded.

Lt. Tholy, married with three children, served with the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment based in Montauban. He joined the French Army in 1997 and completed officer training in 2007. He joined the 17th RGP in 2008.

During his 13 years of service, Lt. Tholy served in Yugoslavia, Cote d'Ivoire, Central African Republic and Djibouti. He deployed to Afghanistan in August this year.

Described as a seasoned, experienced soldier, he commanded his unit to the highest standards.

32-year-old US Army Corporal Chester Gerhardt Stoda from Black River Falls, Wisconsin, died on 2nd September 2011 while scuba diving at Kauai, Hawaii. He was on leave from duty in Afghanistan.

Cpl. Stoda joined the Army in February 2008 as a combat engineer. He was serving with the 8th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade and had deployed to Afghanistan in December 2010.

His awards and decorations include the Korea Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with campaign star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, two Overseas Service Ribbons and a Combat Action Badge.

Cpl. Stoda was included because he was on leave from active duty in Afghanistan at the time of his death.

US Army Specialist Koran P. Contreras, from Lawndale, California, was one of two 10th Mountain Division soldiers killed in action on 8th September 2011 when an insurgent bomb detonated while they were on patrol. The incident happened in Kandahar.

21-year-old Spc. Contreras served with the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, based at Fort Drum, New York. He joined the Army in April 2008 and deployed to Afghanistan in March this year. He previously served in Iraq in 2009.

He was previously awarded the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal and the Combat Infantryman Badge. Family survivors include his wife and mother.